Chapter 2 - Culture

[part one - 05.02.09]
Today, Ms. Cheryl asked evryone of us to write down our own culture,whether we understand it or now. Though this activity, we are able to understand others' culture better and this can prevent us to have conflict between each other. And once we understand these cultures, we can practice it more meaningfully. Below are the lesson i have learn and i would like to share you.

Everyone do have their own culture....There is nothing proud for us to say :"My culture is better than yours"...Such a ethnocentrism thinking shouldn't raise up in our heart. If not, we wont learn from others and improve ourselves.

Instead, learning various culture can let us understand and respect for others more. With this, we can prevent conflict...Especially we, Malaysian, consist of various races and ethnicity.

1. In some Indians family,they are not allow to wash their hair on every Thursday and the day they

born. Chinese,too, are not allow to wash their hair on the 1st day of Chinese New Year and during menstruation.

2. Besides, it is a taboo for Chinese to sweep floor on the 1st day of Chinese New Year.

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3. During the hungry ghost festival, people are not encourage to go back home after 7pm or go to beach. The foods that has been prayed for the ghost cannot be eat too.

4. It is better for us to turn our face and not to see the funeral or grave when we pass by.It is a kind of respect. Kids, ESPECIALLY, have to practice this because they are still very young and is velieve that they are able to communicate with those spirits.

5. For Chinese, when a baby is born for one month, the baby's parents always treattheir friends, neighbour and relatives with "Nasi Kunyit","Curry Chicken"," Red hard boiled eggs" and "Ang ku". This is just a ritual to inform everyone that the family has a new member. It is advise that children cannot eat those foods, or else, they will be very stubbrn when they grow up.

6. Malays do not consume pork. Because it is believe that pork contains germs that is unhealty for us.

Wesak day - This video is taken in amsterdam.. most of it are pictures of how the chinese in amsterdam are celebrating wesak The way of celebrating are actually quite similar with the ones in local.. However, in amsterdam, since there are not much of buddhish, thus all of them gather only in one single sity to celebrate Wesak Day or they called it as Buddha Day [equivalent to the day Budhha was born] if noticed, instead of parading, it is more on gathering and understanding and listeing to the preaching of the monk.


JOM BUKA PUASA - This video is taken


Thaipusam parade



In addition : -
3 important terms that we should remember are ethnic identity, enculturation and acculturation.

Ethnic Identity : It is believed that this relationship has common ancestry that share same characteristic and sociocultural experiences.
For example, they are believed that all chinese with the same surname has same ancestor and therefore, they (the couple with same surname) cannot marry with each other.

Enculturation : a process by which a person learns the requirements of the culture that surrounded and acquires values and behaviours that are appropriate or necessary in that culture.

Acculturation : The exchange of cultural features that results when groups come into continuous firsthand contact; the original cultural patterns of either or both groups may be altered, but the groups remain distinct.

-winnie-
-maykwoon-

[part two - 06.02.09]

Today, we started out quite badly. We let our lecturer down today..nobody seem to have read anything or prepared for her class..guess that we had been so used to be waiting for instructions then only we act since during our early schooling days..wish our education systems would not just be revamped but to be revolve to suit our world today..things that are done in the past and turn out great could not do the same after many centuries..why can't they see that?

It is the same with our cultures too.. things that we do that had been done the same way many times by our fore fathers..questions like what is ethnic identity and whether race is just a myth looms around our head..the class is buzzing with "hyperactivity" as we were being given a piece of paper with circles in a cluster..with that, we are suppose to write out our attributes that strongly identify us..it makes us think and i mean, really think about who we are and what we are.. Evonne came up and said that she felt really out of place when people talking about things behind her back just because she is a Eurasian but more on the Chinese features..

I also think that christians in other dominations do have the stereotype that the Catholics do not know their Bible verse..they would be like saying with confidence, "Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many would go that way. How narrow is the gate that leads to life and how rough; few there are who find it, Matthew (7:13-14)" and the Catholics would be "Oh! Is that really from that verse?Wow!Sungguh hebaaat!!" Anyways.. cultures, ethnic, race, or religion, these are all a few things that will make or break a relationship..it is almost crucial to be aware of them so that we know what can be said or done when we are at places foreign from our own..

-yike heng-